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Thompson & Morgan: Andrew Tokely's Weekly Gardening Blog

Listen to Andrew on BBC Radio Suffolk on Saturdays between 12.00 and 2.00pm.

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Keeping up with the tasks in my garden at this time of year is getting increasingly difficult due to the shorter days and, at the moment, we only seem to be getting one good day's weather each weekend. Let's hope it improves soon so we can keep these jobs ticking over rather than getting behind.

With very cold and windy weather forecast where I live and in other parts of the country, now is a good time to do some running repairs. This weekend I will be checking all the fence panels, trellis and arches and will repair any loose boards or slats before they become damaged. I will also be checking all tree stakes and ties; making sure these plants remain safe and secure.

As very frosty cold weather is also forecast this week with the possibility of snow falling, I will be moving the last of my tender plants into the cold greenhouse. I will also move some of the tender shrubs growing in containers closer to the walls of the house to ensure they have some added frost protection that the warmth of the walls will provide.

fleece-cloches

Fleece Covered Cloches

The over-winter sowings of peas and broad beans sown last month are now just coming through, which means this weekend I must give them some added protection with a cloche. I like to use the fleece covered cloches as these will give some frost protection as well as preventing the birds feeding on the young seedlings.

If you have a grapevine growing under glass you will often find that the old woody stems shed flaky bark at this time of year, which can sometimes make the ideal home for mealy bugs and other over-wintering insects such as the red spider. An easy way to deter them from hiding in these areas is to carefully scrape off the loose flakes so the bark is smoother. This will not harm the stem, but will deter those unwelcome pests. If you would like to grow your own grapevine there are two very good varieties available in the T&M Fruit Collection.

geranium-cuttings

Rooted Geranium Cuttings

If, like me, you took geranium cuttings back in August/September, these are now big enough to pot on into individual 9cm (3½in pots). When potting on always use good potting compost, then after their first watering in, keep the plants on the dry side through the winter to avoid any danger of stem rot (black leg disease).

For those gardeners who have an asparagus bed on the vegetable patch, it is time to think about cleaning it up for winter. Once the ferny foliage on the asparagus has tuned yellow from the base upwards, this is telling you that the plants are ready to rest for winter. Cut this foliage down to the base, taking care as asparagus fern has sharp spines on the stems. Once all the foliage has been removed, apply a generous mulch of well-rotted manure to help ensure a good crop of succulent asparagus next year. However, if the foliage on the bed is still green, leave it alone until it has turned yellow before cutting it back, as this foliage is still putting energy back into next season's crop.

One very quick but very important job at this time of year is to check potatoes, carrots and beetroot that have been stored for winter use. This is a job that can be done whatever the weather and I always check mine regularly and remove any tubers or roots that are showing any sign of decay. This will stop any fungal disease spreading through the whole of my stored crop and ruining my hard-earned harvest.

compost-allotment

Mushroom Compost on my Allotment

Finally this week, if the weather stays cold but is dry I will continue to move my mushroom compost onto the plot ready for digging in. Barrowing this, wheeling it to the plot and tipping in heaps is an easy way of keeping warm and fit without going down the gym.


Listen to Andrew on BBC Radio Suffolk on Saturdays between 12.00 and 2.00pm.